Hours before the project was to be announced Thursday, attorney Mark Fabiani sent the developer a letter saying the Chargers wanted him to stop referring to the team in promoting the project. The team says the project would be too enormous for the Mission Valley site.

Southern California's only NFL team has said since 2002 it needs a new stadium to remain financially competitive.

Fabiani, the team's lead negotiator on the stadium issue, says the Chargers spent several years and millions of dollars trying to make a project work.

The proposal would have included a 70,000-seat stadium, a hotel and other amenities.